


Only Us

by orphan_account



Series: Basorexia [3]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Found Family, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Torture, Marriage, Mentions of married life, Mentions of messing with the Hive, Trans Female Character, does smoking on a roof count as drug use?, i'm counting it anyways what the hell, literally just river being river, river is trans it's official
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25586695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Her first memory is of her own grave.
Relationships: Female Guardian & Andal Brask, Female Guardian & Jaren Ward, Female Guardian & Saint-14, Female Guardian/Female Guardian (Destiny)
Series: Basorexia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817995
Kudos: 4





	Only Us

**Author's Note:**

> Was going to be 2 chapters, ended up as one lol

Her first memory is of wet earth. Her second is heaving in mouthfuls of soil, choking on it as she clawed her way out. Her third memory is of a glowing blue eye telling her _we need to go_ . Her fourth is the jingling of her dog tags as she ran through the woods of what she now knows as Old Ukraine, once a thriving country, a powerhouse of the Golden Age, reduced to rubble and radioactive zones. The days, weeks, months, and years afterward are whisperings of her body feeling wrong, from the deep voice to the lean masses of muscle. She knew she hated the name _Alexander_ and enjoyed the concept of _Zarya_ or _AJ_ over the cursed name on her dog tags. 

The years she spent building the Iron Lord's weapons were so quiet, yet so loud. Felwinter and Radegast were the only Lords to get her to speak up, and her grunts of annoyance aimed at Zavala during his training in mastering the blades of Arc she used were the most others heard from her. 

Learning to master the Bow was a pain she couldn't begin to describe, from the prying of the Void and the failed castings of her tethers (resulting in Tevis telling her to _try again, it will come to you through failure_ ). 

Her first Golden Gun was fueled by the rage of the Fallen attacks on the Last City during Twilight Gap. The Solar burned her hands, leaving burned skin up her arms, her hands shaking from the experience. Andal, with his kind, gentle eyes, smiled and sat with her as she shook, the Golden Gun reminding her too much of _JarenandBurningandthedesertandJaren, Jaren,_ **_JAREN._ **

She cried when Saint and Andal berated a fellow Guardian for murmurings of _fucking abomination_ in passing when she first began her transition. She cried again when Andal and Saint, both with their seemingly endless patience, helped her with her name, prancing around announcing _River Johnson Song, ladies and gentlemen!_

When the Iron Lords died, she left the City, hopping on her Sparrow and without looking back began a trek to Old Los Angeles, soaking in the summer heat and cool winters of the desert, fighting the Fallen she came across and screaming at Rasputin in his god damned bunkers. She only returned to the City for specific reports. 

When she first heard of Andal's death, she was checking in with Ikora, making small talk, and merely vaguely heard Cayde murmur something about- _Cayde was Vanguard._ She had pivoted on her ankle, gripping Cayde by the clasps of his cloak, growling out a “ _Where is Andal.”_ She had to be dragged away by Zavala and Shaxx combined as she reached for her knives.

Her grand return comes when Guardians are called to Luna, destroying Hive left and right, moving from sniper nest to sniper nest every hour, watching her comrades fall around her. She made a name for herself, "White Death," and loved every moment people saw the sniper hung over her shoulder and falling in behind her. 

Neela was… She was new, a fresh beginning, a chance at redemption after her mess of a return to the City and a chance at something _new and real._ Neela was wonderful. Until she wasn’t. Until the City was destroyed at the hands of the Cabal, and Neela was among the many thousands of Guardians that died to the hands of said space rhino race. Her death didn’t hurt as much as it should have; they were already falling out; their engagement falling apart and their relationship coming to an end in the most inevitable way possible: death. 

Then the Hive happened. River found herself stuck deep underground in tunnels long hidden away- she could have sworn she was just in the old tube tunnels of Old London-and suddenly Cursed Thrall were everywhere, blowing her up one after the other, closer calls leaving her with nasty chemical burns. The Wizards were the worst part, with their ripping and tearing and _ripping and tearing at her skin and breaking her bones one by one by one just to watch her scream._ The wizards tore her open, watched her breath as many breaths as she could, and forced Ivory to revive her, over and over and over again. The wizards ripped and pulled and gagged and sewed and pulled her back together sometimes, only to pull her apart once again, delving deep into the depths of her body, finding the very organs she had surgically placed, finding the scars from her reassignment surgery, used it against her. They called her _he_ as she would learn from the whisperings of Toland within the Ascendant Realm of the Hive. They took her dog tags. All she knew was darkness. Until there was no more darkness. There was the burning of Solar, yelling as Guardians stormed the tunnels, a fireteam of three, and the wizards were destroyed by the sheer heat of the Warlock’s sword. River had been terrified of Solar until she wasn’t. She had hated the concept of the legendary Kara Keirne, revered for her medical skill until she saw the woman in battle in her barely-awake state in the depths of the Hive tunnel. When she closed her eyes to the sight of pastel pink dyed hair and beautiful brown eyes, she smiled. 

Waking in the hospital in pain and near tears was the one thing River hadn't expected after her adventure into the tube's tunnels. It was October when Kara had brought her to the hospital's roof, handing her a cigarette and lighting the fags. She had watched as the Warlock leaned forward, watching the twinkling lights of the Last City underneath them. Kara's lips, plump and full, were mesmerizing as she blew out puffs of smoke. She sighed, blowing her own smoke from her nostrils. They sat in silence like that until Kara's hand found itself on River's thigh. She had sucked in a breath, her body tensing, expecting the hand to move further upward or down towards her inner thigh. Their relationship continued on as such for another 2 years, full of fleeting touches and chaste kisses. 

When she met Yimir, Kara's adopted daughter, for the first time, she was enamoured by the sight of the 3-year-old toddler, giggling away in her mother's arms as she fiddled with Kara's hair. It was the first time Kara saw River smile.

Their marriage ceremony was small, the guests made up of their respective fireteams and close friends. It was beautiful despite its size. River's suit was light grey, her hair pulled into a neat bun atop her head, showing off her clean-shaven undercut that faded into nothing towards the nape of her neck. Kara, in all her beauty, had chosen an elaborate white dress with a pastel blue sash to throw over her shoulders. River teared up as she said her vows, promising her life to Kara and Yimir, promising protection lest something should happen. 

At 18, Yimir had ended up a beautiful young woman, and River couldn't have been more proud of her marital daughter. When she turned 21, River and Kara were witness to their daughter's marriage. At 22, Yimir gave birth to twins- a not and a girl, perfect replicas of both their parents. The twins were ecstatic to have Guardians as grandparents. 

River had found her home. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a quick little thing I threw together on the way home from my 2-week adventure to California (I've been back since last Thursday but we don't talk about that). It's partner approved.


End file.
